This invention relates to a service providing system, information processing apparatus and method, recording medium and program, and more particularly to a service providing system, information processing apparatus and method, recording medium and program for a service to be utilized through a network by intuitive operations.
In the case of receiving a service provision from a service server via a network, the user is required to get a user's authentication on the basis of a user's ID, password and the like, from the service server. However, user authentication is independent of each service to be offered. The user is required to input his or her user's ID and password onto the client apparatus each time service provision is changed. This, however, involves problem of taking labor and time.
In this situation, as shown in FIG. 1, there is a proposal on a method to arrange, between a client computer (hereinafter, briefly referred to as “client”) 1 and two service servers 3-1, 3-2 (hereinafter, referred merely to as “service server 3” where there is no need of distinction between them, this is true for the other case), an authentication proxy server 2 in order to authenticate the client 1 in the service server 3 (Reverse Proxy Type). The service to be provided to the client 1 is referred to as SSO (Single Sign On) service for the client 1, on condition that authentication is to be made by the authentication proxy server 2. The authentication proxy server 2 manages user's IDs and passwords required for the client 1 who accesses the respective service servers 3-1 and 3-2, besides the user ID and password to authenticate the client 1.
When the client 1 logs in an authentication proxy service by the use of the user ID and password (for authenticating the client 1) granted upon registration to an authentication proxy service to be provided by the authentication proxy server 2, the authentication proxy server 2 authenticates the client 1 on the basis of the user ID and password (authenticates the client 1, in proxy for the service servers 3-1, 3-2).
Then, the authentication proxy server 2 accesses the service server 3-1 or 3-2 depending upon an authentication result on the client 1 by using the user ID and password, granted upon registration to and needed in accessing the service server 3-1, 3-2, and acquires a service as requested by the client 1 from the service server 3-1 or 3-2 and provides it to the client 1. Accordingly, once inputting a predetermined user's ID and password when logging in the authentication proxy service, the user is allowed to receive a service provision from any of the service servers 3-1, 3-2.
Detailing the operation onto the client 1 when receiving a service provision in this manner, the user first inputs his or her user ID and password on an input screen as shown in FIG. 2, thereby logging in the authentication proxy service. Due to this, a list of SSO service for the client 1 is displayed to the client, as shown in FIG. 3. It is noted that, in FIG. 3, there are displayed the names of the service SSO 1 to be provided by the service server 3-1 of FIG. 1 and the service SSO 2 to be provided by the service server 3-2. Then, the user selects a service name (service SSO 1 or SSO 2) on display. Due to this, to the client 1 is displayed a content of the selected service SSO 1 or SSO 2, as shown in FIG. 4 or 5.
However, the operation in this case is by selecting a service name in character expression. This is far from intuitively grasping a content of the selected SSO service. In this manner, in the service providing system having the conventional authentication proxy server 2 to authenticate a client 1 in proxy for the service server 3, there is a drawback, i.e. the user is not allowed to select and use an SSO service through intuitive operations.
It is an object of the present invention to allow the user to intuitively select, for example, an SSO service and utilize the same.